Civic participation: political parties and positions

In Portugal, you can participate in political life in various ways — by joining political parties or standing for political office.

How is a party founded? Who can stand for office? What are the rules?

On this page, we explain the main routes to political participation in Portugal, from creating political parties to holding public office.

This page provides information about how to:

  1. Found or join a political party
  2. Run for political office

1.Found or join a political party

To set up a political party in Portugal, you must register it with the Constitutional Court by submitting a written request. If you want to participate in political life, you can also join an existing party, as long as you meet its internal requirements.

How to found or create a political party

To create a political party, you need to:

Gather signatures

You need at least 7,500 registered Portuguese citizens to sign the party creation request. Each person must provide their name and Citizen Card number (or Identity Card).

Prepare the documents

You must prepare draft articles of association that define how the party works (internal rules, governing bodies, etc.), along with a declaration of principles or political programme. The party must also have a name, an acronym, and a party symbol.

Send the registration request

All the documentation (the written request, articles of association, declaration of principles, and the voter details of those who signed) must be sent to the Constitutional Court.

After submission, the application is reviewed

If the Constitutional Court confirms that all legal requirements are met, it will approve the registration and publish the decision in the *Diário da República*. The party then gains legal status.

At the request of the Public Prosecutor's Office, the Constitutional Court may review and declare any part of a party’s articles of association illegal at any time.

How to join an existing political party

The Portuguese Constitution and legislation guarantee the right to freely join political parties. This means any citizen can become a member of an existing party, as long as they meet the requirements defined in the party's internal rules.

To do so, check the official list of registered parties and visit each party’s website.

Joining a political party is voluntary and cannot be forced. Parties must ensure equal rights for all members, without discrimination.

If you're involved in an election campaign, are you entitled to time off work?

By law, only people who are official candidates in elections are entitled to take time off work to participate in the campaign, without losing their labour rights.

If you are a party member but not a candidate, you are not entitled to justified absences from work during the campaign.

Time off work for candidates

The length of time off depends on the type of election:

Legislative elections (Assembly of the Republic)

Candidates are entitled to be off work throughout the official campaign period, which begins 30 days before election day.

Municipal elections (city and parish councils)

During the campaign period — which starts nine days before the election and ends at midnight two days before — the main candidates and a minimum number of alternates are entitled to be off work to participate in campaign activities.

For example, if the election is on 1 March, the campaign runs from 19 February to 26 February at midnight. During this period, candidates and alternates can be away from work.

Justifying your absence

These absences are considered justified, meaning they do not count as unexcused absences and do not affect your rights at work. However, you must notify your employer before taking time off.

Informing your employer

You should inform your employer as early as possible of your intention to take leave. To prove you are a candidate, you can present a certificate issued by the court that accepted your application.

For public and private sector workers

This right to justified absences applies to both public sector employees and private sector workers.

To learn more about candidates’ rights, visit the National Electoral Commission website.

2. Running for political office

To stand as a candidate for political office, you need to check that you meet the legal requirements for each type of election.

How to find out if you can run for political office

Eligibility for political office may depend on your age, nationality, or the number of signatures you collect.

President of the Republic

To run for President of the Republic, you need to:

  • Be a Portuguese citizen by birth, i.e. to have been born Portuguese
  • Be at least 35 years old
  • Have an application signed by a minimum of 7,500 and a maximum of 15,000 voters

Municipal councils and parish councils

To stand as a candidate for a local authority position, i.e. on a municipal council or parish council, you need to:

  • Be a Portuguese citizen or, in some cases, a citizen of the European Union or of countries with reciprocity agreements
  • Be at least 18 years old
  • Have your candidacy submitted on lists of candidates, which may be proposed by political parties, coalitions of parties or groups of voting citizens
Citizens of Brazil with equal political rights status (Porto Seguro Treaty) may run in local and legislative elections. They are treated as Portuguese citizens. However, running for President of the Republic is reserved for Portuguese citizens by birth.

The Assembly of the Portuguese Republic (parliament)

To run for office in the Assembly of the Republic, you need to:

  • Be a Portuguese citizen
  • Be at least 18 years old
  • Be registered to vote in Portugal
  • Present your candidacy on lists proposed by legally recognised political parties or coalitions

There are no “independent lists” for legislative elections.

Each electoral constituency (districts, autonomous regions, the Europe constituency and the Outside Europe constituency) has a competent judicial court — usually the one based in the main district town — which receives and validates the list of candidates submitted by parties or coalitions.

Individual signatures from the candidates on the list are not required. The candidacy is submitted by the party or coalition to the competent court.

Can a foreign national stand for political office in Portugal?

The participation of foreign nationals in political office depends on their nationality and on reciprocity agreements:

Citizens of the European Union

EU citizens may apply for local positions, such as seats on municipal or parish councils, provided they are resident in Portugal.

Citizens of third countries

Eligibility depends on specific agreements between Portugal and the citizen’s country of origin.

Currently, there are agreements with the following countries:

  • Brazil (for citizens who do not have equal political rights status, i.e. who are not covered by the Porto Seguro Treaty)
  • Cape Verde

Citizens of Brazil and Cape Verde must have been legally resident in Portugal for at least four years before the date of the election.

  • United Kingdom (for citizens who were already living in Portugal before Brexit)
Foreign citizens must be registered in the Portuguese electoral roll in the area of the respective local authority.

To find out more about candidacies by foreign nationals, visit the National Electoral Commission website.